A sweeping memoir of American politics and history from Chris Matthews, New York Times bestselling author and former host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.
In This Country,
Chris Matthews offers a panoramic portrait of post–World War II America
through the story of his remarkable life and career. It is a story of
risk and adventure, of self-reliance and service, of loyalty and
friendship. It is a story driven by an abiding faith in our country.
Raised
in a large Irish-Catholic family in Philadelphia at a time when kids
hid under their desks in atomic war drills, Chris’s life etched a
pattern: take a leap, live an adventure, then learn what it means. As a
young Peace Corps graduate, Chris moved to DC and began knocking on
doors on Capitol Hill. With dreams of becoming what Ted Sorensen had
been for Jack Kennedy, Chris landed as a staffer to Utah Senator Frank
Moss, where his eyes were opened to the game of big-league politics.
In
the 1970s, Matthews mounted a campaign for Congress as a Democratic
maverick running against Philadelphia’s old political machine. He didn’t
win the most votes, but his grit put him on the path to a top job in
the White House. As a speechwriter for President Carter, Matthews
witnessed the triumphs and tragedies of that administration; from the
diplomatic brilliance of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty to the
disaster of the Iran hostage crisis. After Carter’s defeat, Chris became
chief of staff to legendary Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, a perch
that gave him an on-the-job PhD in American politics during the Reagan
years.
Chris then leapt to the other side of the political matrix as a columnist and reporter. For the San Francisco Examiner,
he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first all-races election in
South Africa, the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, and every
American presidency from Reagan to George W. Bush. Chris would go on to
pioneer cable news with a fast-paced, no-nonsense television program.
His show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, would become a political institution for twenty years.
As
Chris charts his political odyssey, he paints an energetic picture of a
nation searching for its soul. He reflects with grace and wisdom,
showcasing the grand arc of the American story through one life
dedicated to its politics.
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